Best and Worst Rock Concert Moments


I will start this off. 1975 Jethro Tull concert at the Seattle Center Coliseum. About midway through the show an M-80 goes off in the crowd in the middle of a song and Ian Anderson holds his hand up in the air and counts to three with his fingers and the band stops playing in mid measure all at once as though some one had flipped a switch. The whole place goes dead quiet for about 15 seconds or so. Anderson says something like "Well, that was bloody ******* RUDE! If you want us to keep playing then you better cut that crap right out and have a little more respect for your NEIGHbor. Do you really want us to play some more?". The crowd slowly starts to applaud and then it builds to a crescendo. As the applause starts to die down, Anderson holds his hand up in the air, counts out loud to three and the band cuts back in full force absolutely mid-measure where they left off.

When the song ended I have never heard such intense applause in any arena or hall for any song at any show. I was completely dumb struck by how Anderson handled the situation and by the musicianship of the whole outfit. Maybe it was a staged event, but I doubt it. Either way, it was really something else...
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Showing 3 responses by xiekitchen

Best: Weather Report at (I think) the Eastman Theatre in Rochester NY July 1981. It was a beautiful night and I thought I died and went to heaven.. a 20 minute version of Tale Spinnin's "Badia". Jaco's "quadraphonic" bass towers doing his Hendrix solo.

Worst: Let's see now.. I'm gonna say Happy the Man opening for a brand new heretofor unknown band called Foreigner in september 1977. The crowd was of a primarily Pop/rock mentality. I was going ape crap watching/listening to an incredible Prog rock performance by Happy the Man; after about 45 minutes they gave up trying to "reach" the audience and Stanley Whittaker (guitarist) steps up to a mike and says "I know, you all came to rock and roll" and that was it - they left. I went out the next day and bought the 1st Happy the Man album. Foreigner was just "o.k".
I have another Kieth Jarrett story:
I had a front row seat to a concert with Kieth in a trio setting with Jack Dejohnette on drums and Dave Holland (maybe not sure) on upright bass, in Princeton NJ early 90's forgot which year... Interesting to note, bass player using a Cello amp...
Anyway, just as concert is beginning, it's DEAD quiet, then, somebody waaay up high in far back starts making some weird sick, loud moaning noises.. like a mental patient or something.. Kieth and everyone else turns
around looking like, 'what the HELL???' and looking around for the source of 'outburst'. Keith says something like, 'excuse me? we'd like to begin now..' and that was it. Rest of performance was undisturbed.